• The third IIMB Policy Hackathon organized as part of the 9th International Conference on Public Policy and Management at IIM Bangalore was held during August 9-10. (http://hrm.iimb.ernet.in/iimb/9th_Cpp_Conference/) Students of IIITB won 3 of the 4 awards that were presented in the 'App for Governance' track. The track involved developing an app based solution to tackle a problem that poses a significant governance challenge.
  
  The winning teams are:
  First Runner-up Award
  Team Bits and Bytes: Ashutosh Tiwari(MT2014018), Kaustav Sen(MT2014052), Tanay Agrawal (MT2014123), Ankit Ratnawat (MT2014010 ).
  
  Second Runner-up Award
  Team LdSIS: Anish Ratnawat (MT2014005), Surendra Pratap Singh (MT2014122), Apoorv Shrivastava (MT2014014).
  Team Common Man: Aditya Paliwal (IMT2013004), Shivam Kumar (IMT2013042), Siddartha Sekhar Padhi (IMT2013043), Vikas Yadav (IMT2013060)

  The jury members were impressed by apps which were developed by IIITB students. The jury comments:

  • "Their innovative use of Key-Value pairs to classify different policy categories and generate the required UI for forms from this classification in run-time makes them a frontrunner among the solutions presented" (Team Bits and Bytes)
  • "Their ability to keep the solution simple and workable helped them demonstrate a basic prototype. We look forward to them coming back next time and building more impactful solution" (Team LdSIS)
  • "Easy integration of SMS Gateway and design of flexible database is a very useful innovation that may become a standard way to develop these kinds of portals" (Team Common Man)

Events

• IIITB organized a felicitation get-together to recognize the contributions made by Dr. P. Anandan on August 2. Dr. Anandan, Managing Director, Microsoft Research India (MSRI) is taking up a new challenging assignment and moving from MSRI, Bangalore to Microsoft Research (MSR), Redmond.
• Orientation programme for M. S. by Research and Ph. D. students was held on August 4.
• Four students, who are part of the Foreign Exchange programme, are visiting for this semester and have reported on campus on August 4. Two students attend Hof University of Applied Sciences; and the other two, Freie Universität Berlin.
• The new batch of students for iMTech 2014 joined on August 8.
• Spic Macay Bangalore chapter organized a concert of Rajasthani folk Bhavai by Shri Bhawar Khan Manganiar & Group on August 12. The performances by the group included some famous Rajasthani folk songs. Also they introduced us to couple of innovative musical instruments which they played, namely Bhapang(which is a variable tension string instrument) and Morchang(used as a percussion instrument in folk music). This showed their passion and love for their traditional art form which they have preserved since generations. Also a mesmerizing performance was Bhavai, which is a popular folk dance in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• Student Activity Committee (SAC) elections were held for this year on August 12. Out of 10 nominees, Aditya Jain, Kritika Rashi, Nitesh Kumar and Rita Grace Itticheria were elected. More than 140 students voted.


• Prof. Meenakshi D'Souza and Prof. Jyotsna Bapat gave an overview of on-campus Women's Cell and Internal Complaints Committee at IIITB to newly admitted students on August 8. This has been done as a part of UGC (University Grants Commission) recommendations for ensuring the safety of women and programmes for gender sensitization on campuses (Saksham guidelines, 2013).



• 41st meeting of the Senate was held on August 13.


• IIITB celebrated the 68th Independence Day on August 15. The occasion was graced by the presence of the Director, faculty and staff members and their families. After the Flag hoisting the Director gave an inspiring speech about our responsibility towards the nation. There were singing performances by students of iMTech 2014 and MTech 2014 batch. The event closed with a special movie screening of “CHAK DE INDIA!”



• IIITB Catering service changed from OM caterers to RUMI caterers on August 22.
  


• IIITB Students organised a Freshers’ Party for welcoming new IIITB family members on August 28. The students were brimming with enthusiasm and were eager for the show to begin. They showcased their talent in activities such as group dance, singing, instrumental performances and playing games with their new batch mates. This was followed by grand dinner and a DJ party.



• Ganesh Chaturthi, birth of Lord Ganesh - destroyer of obstacles, was celebrated by IIITB students. Students established the clay idol of Lord Ganesh. The Pandal was decorated with beautiful artworks on the day. After completion of the Puja, Students offered Pushpanjali and served “Prasad” to everyone. On the last day, the idol was taken out in a colourful and musical procession to be immersed traditionally in a nearby lake.


• Analytics III programme started at IIITB on August 30.

Publications

• Prasad R., and Sridhar V. (2014). The Dynamics of Spectrum Management: Legacy, Technology, and Economics. Oxford University Press, ISBN-13: 978-0-19-809978-9; ISBN-10: 0-19-809978-9. The book released on August 9 in India International Centre, New Delhi by Mr. R. Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM and former Secretary, DoT and Chairman, Telecom Commission, followed by a panel discussion by experts.
  Abstract of the book: The demand for spectrum has never been so acute as today’s communication services extend beyond simple voice to complex data and video, augmented by evolving technologies such as peer-to-peer sharing, social networking,  Big Data, and cloud computing. On the other hand, supply of spectrum, an essential resource for mobile services is restricted due to competing nature of uses and vested interests of incumbent holders. This book covers the theoretical framework governing technology, and economics of spectrum. Examples derived from practices around the world are given to illustrate the underlying principles. Future technologies that enable effective use of spectrum are documented along with accompanying economic rationale and policy prescriptions. The significant addition in this book is the illustration of the migration from the command and control regime of spectrum allocation to flexible methods and further towards the spectrum of the commons. The regulatory and policy implications are discussed drawing parallels to practices around the world. The unique case of spectrum management is highlighted.
  For details: http://www.oup.co.in/product/academic-general/economics/development-economic/551/the-dynamics-spectrum-management-legacy-technology-economics/9780198099789

Faculty & Staff

• “Workshop on logic skills” was organized and conducted by Prof. Joy Prabhakaran on August 5.
  
• Prof. Dinesh Jayagopi gave a talk on "Behavior Tracking and Perception using applications in Operator Assist and Team Training" at the DRDO workshop on Technologies for Autonomous Soldier-Assist System (TASAS) 2014, organized at the Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India during August 7-9.
  
• Prof. T K Srikanth gave a talk on "3D Printing/Additive Manufacturing" in a session at the CII Tenth India Innovation Summit, 2014 on August 9 in Bangalore. The theme of the session was "Disruptive Innovation as a Driver for Social Change".
• Prof. S. Sadagopan, Director met with Mr. Srivatsa Krishna, IAS, ITBT secretary on August 22.


• Mr. V. S. Prakash, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) has assumed the charges of Registrar, IIITB with effect from August 11.


• Ms. Sowmya N. has joined the institute as Research Assistant in the Centre for Electronics and Embedded Systems.
  

Students

• Shivam Agarwal (MT2013143) participated in Hackerrace event organized by American Express on August 5. This was an online coding contest between three colleges: IIITB, NSIT and BITS Pilani. He secured third position overall and first in IIITB. 
  For details: http://www.axpindiacampus.com/hackeRAce/​
• Lukshya Madan (IMT2012024) got fully funded trip to Seattle/Redmond from Microsoft Corporation, USA to represent India as the best of best student developer/partner and to interact with the CEO Satya Nadella and won People’s choice award MOHAI, Seattle for his Microsoft Imagine Cup 2014 Project named ‘Bingya’.


• Aravind Kashyap (IMT2013019) and Lukshya Madan (IMT2012024) hosted, upon invitation, the Global Shapers Youth Summit FY-14 at Microsoft Bangalore.

Guest Talks

• August 6: “Challenges and opportunities of using ICTs in the Indian tax administration system and the Income Tax department” by Mr. S. S. Khan, former Member (Income Tax), Central Board of Direct Taxes, Government of India.
• August 13: “Energy Aware Software Systems” by Prof. Y. N. Srikant, CSA, IISc.


• August 13: “Design, Economic Development and Agile Software Development” by Dr. Eswaran Subrahmanian, ICES&EPP, Carnegie Mellon University, Guest Researcher, National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA, Visiting Faculty, IIITB.
  
  
  
• August 14: “Nanotechnology and Product Development: Opportunities and Challenges” by Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao, IIT Bombay.
  
  
• August 20: "Tackling the world's toughest emotional block" by Dr. Rajdeep Manwani, Jain University.
  
  
• August 20: “Talking Caste Identity through Place: Digital Mobilization on Cyber Thiyyars of Malabar” by Dr. Jillet Sarah Sam.

Campus Visitors

• August 5:  Mr. P. S. Deodhar, Founder Chairman, Aplab Ltd and Electronics Commission.

• September 15: 15th Foundation Day of IIITB

• September 25-October 1: Midterm week